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DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL
AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING (CHE) (ChBE)

Professor Viola L. Acoff, Department Head
Office: 116-E Houser Hall

The BSChE degree is a professional degree that prepares graduates for employment and graduate study in chemical engineering and related fields, as well as entry into professional programs such as medicine, dentistry, law, and business.

Chemical engineers apply economics, chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics to the design and operation of processes and to the research and development of new materials, processes, and systems. The many and varied issues associated with going from concept to demonstration to operation of processes and equipment all fall within the province of chemical engineering. Chemical engineers are as comfortable with plant operations, research and development projects, synthesis of alternative fuels, energy conservation and conversion, process design, optimization and control, environmental conservation and pollution prevention, as they are with the exciting fundamental studies associated with biotechnology, nanotechnology, electrochemical technology, and other areas yet to be discovered.

The BSChE degree and curriculum place strong emphasis on the basic sciences, but a vital feature remains the high degree of confidence and practical ability gained from laboratory and design courses. Laboratories include equipment needed to study and demonstrate heat, mass, and momentum transfer; material and energy balances; process dynamics and control; chemical reaction systems including catalysis; and thermodynamics. A full-time technician who is a qualified machinist maintains the laboratories. The Basics Laboratory course covers fundamental principles to reinforce the basic courses within the chemical engineering curriculum. The Unit Operations Laboratory course contains pilot scale process units and other pieces of equipment that allow students to build, operate and analyze results collected during their operation. The Chemical and Biological Engineering High Bay Facility provides state-of-the-art visualization equipment for research and instruction in continuous and batch distillation, and reaction engineering. A high-pressure chemical reaction facility is also available for experimental studies and demonstrations of chemical reactions. Individual faculty member research laboratories give students the opportunity to work one-on-one with faculty in special problems courses.

Design is paramount to an engineering education. It is the salient feature that distinguishes engineering from other professional degree programs. Engineering design is the process of devising a system, component, process, or product to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making process in which the basic sciences, mathematics and engineering sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet stated objectives. The Chemical and Biological Engineering Design component of this curriculum includes development of student creativity, use of open-ended problems, development and use of modern design theory and methodology, formulation of design problem statements and specifications, consideration of alternative solutions, feasibility analyses, concurrent engineering design, technical research, and detailed system descriptions. The introduction of realistic constraints, such as economic factors, safety, reliability, aesthetics, ethics, and environmental and social impacts, are used to fully develop each design experience.

Program Objectives

Chemical and biological engineering graduates are expected to

have knowledge of and a sound understanding of fundamentals

have analysis and problem-solving skills

have synthesis and design skills

understand the responsibility to society by integrating global, environmental, and ethical concerns within the engineering functions

have effective oral and written communication skills

have teamwork and leadership skills

Special Features

While the baccalaureate degree curriculum contains many courses designed to sequentially introduce students to methodologies for understanding, defining, and solving a broad array of increasingly complex problems, there are elements in the program that also allow students to investigate exciting and challenging issues that often exist at the intersections where engineering and the sciences meet. Some of the elective special program options are described below.

Chemical and Biological Engineering Honors Program. The departmental honors program complements programs offered through the UA’s Honors College (CBH, IHP). The highlight of the ChBE honors program is a one-hour forum that focuses on emerging topics of interest in the field. In addition to this course, 6 hours of departmental honors course credits may be scheduled through the CHE 498/CHE 499 sequence or as other designated courses. These credits may include one-on-one undergraduate research experiences, co-op- or internship-for-credit experiences, work-/study-abroad-for-credit experiences, and courses designed to be taken for joint undergraduate/graduate credit in the Scholars Program leading to advanced degree study. Five additional hours of honors credit must be taken from courses within the ChBE curriculum, and six further hours of honors credits must be earned from any of the University-wide honors programs. The chemical engineering honor courses may, in turn be used to satisfy the requirements in the University-wide honor program(s) selected. Special recognition for completing these programs is given at the time of graduation.

Eligibility:

Incoming freshmen: ACT of 28 or better or SAT of 1240 or better

Transfer students: cumulative college GPA of 3.3 or better and 28 ACT/1240 SAT.

Current UA students: cumulative UA GPA of 3.3 or better.

Requirements for Recognition as Graduating with ChBE Honors:

Completion of the course requirements for the BS degree in Chemical Engineering.

Maintenance of a 3.30 GPA in all undergraduate coursework:

Completion of 18 hours of honors coursework:

12 hours in the ChBE curriculum

- 1 hour of ChBE Honors Forum

- 6 hours of ChBE-designated courses

- 5 hours of any courses in the ChBE curriculum

6 hours of additional honors courses from within or outside the ChBE curriculum.

Experiential-based coursework:

3 hours must be experience-based, such as undergraduate research, co-op for credit, work internship for credit, undergraduate design, or a research experience at another university (REU).

Plan of study, certificates, and minors options. Students are required to explore other areas of personal interest through their plan of study. Two courses (6 hours of credit), related in content and/or discipline, must be selected as the two approved elective blocks within the plan of study. This provides students with an option to gain knowledge in a “concentration” area that is defined by the student, in consultation with a faculty advisor. A student may add courses to this area using the advanced science and/or chemical and biological engineering elective courses.

Undergraduate research options. Many students elect to take special problems (undergraduate research) to gain valuable hands-on experience in laboratory or computational settings with a faculty member. These courses may be used to satisfy elective course requirements when they are designed to meet the requirements of those course blocks. Products from this activity often include opportunities for making presentations at local and national meetings, co-authoring technical papers, or travel to meetings, conferences, or symposia. Research papers may also be prepared for publication in technical journals. This kind of activity is particularly helpful to students who wish to pursue advanced study in chemical engineering or related fields.

Scholars Program. This program administered by the University’s Graduate School allows eligible students to prepare for advanced study by enrolling in courses that can concurrently satisfy bachelor of science and master of science (MS) degree requirements. The eligibility requirements may be in the Special Academic Programs section of this catalog.

Premedical/predental/prelaw options. The baccalaureate degree is a popular study plan for preparation to enter one of the professional programs listed. Acceptance rates for our students are excellent and the preparation that an engineering degree provides makes these tracks a most desired one.